


Strawberry Sweet

by Carmenlire



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Drunk Alec, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Immortal Husbands, M/M, Slow Dancing, Soft Husbands, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 23:03:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14725301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carmenlire/pseuds/Carmenlire
Summary: Alec likes strawberry daiquiris. Magnus likes Alec.





	Strawberry Sweet

It used to be that Alec didn’t drink much. Really, he didn’t drink at all. Whether it was beer or vodka, it all made him scrunch his face in disgust. For years, he didn’t understand how people drank alcohol so nonchalantly. Surely, they must be lying. The whole world was part of a conspiracy just to confuse Alec. There’s _no way_ people could drink liquor straight or stand to have a glass of wine every evening.

Then, he’d met Magnus. When Magnus had first invited Alec out for a drink sometime, he’d wanted to suggest something else. But between the shock of Magnus calling him to the bullshit with Clary that was wreaking havoc on everyone’s lives during those days, he’d missed his chance, accepting without registering the words were coming out of his mouth until he’d heard himself agree. Plus, from that very first moment Alec had been enthralled with everything _Magnus_ and couldn’t make himself do anything that could jeopardize getting to know him. 

Even though it would be weeks before they’d properly get a drink, that evening after healing Luke, Alec was reaching out to take the martini Magnus prepared without thinking too much about it. Surely Magnus was an expert mixer and Alec would finally realize what he’d been missing. Right?

Wrong.

That martini that had been so artfully set afire had been the most disgusting thing Alec had ever tasted. It was equal parts gasoline and lighter fluid. It was appalling. Alec had tried to hide his wince, tried not to show how taken aback he was. He’d looked up from his stare of revulsion at the glass only to see Magnus’s unwavering gaze, considering him. Alec had been afraid that he’d messed up. He’d shown how uncultured he was; he wasn’t what Magnus was expecting. Magnus had probably realized that Alec was just a sheltered shadowhunter not worth his time.

To his eternal fortune, Magnus hadn’t made a big deal of it. His eyes had softened a touch and Alec thought he might've even hid a smile by taking a sip of his own drink. The conversation had picked up a moment later and before Alec had known it, he was waking up to bright sunshine and Magnus exclaiming that he made a mean Belgian waffle.

That was a lifetime ago and while Alec still couldn’t handle anything _straight no chaser_ , he’d discovered the beauty of cocktails that were more fruit than liquor. He loved a good strawberry daiquiri and Magnus had found a signature drink for him-- a sex on the beach?-- that was simply delicious.

It’s a scorching August afternoon and Alec is laid out on their balcony, the noise from the busy Brooklyn streets below helping him relax, tension melting off his shoulders.

He’d left the Institute around noon, fed up with Clave bullshit and in a rare fit a pique had just walked out the doors and started towards the loft. He’d have hell to pay tomorrow when his mound of paperwork was up to the ceiling but Alec didn’t care. He’d been working nonstop for weeks and could justify a few hours to himself.

Magnus was gone for the day, with a morning meeting in Vienna and a few house calls later in the afternoon. Alec would be left to his own devices until way after dark. When he’d come home, he’d headed straight for the bedroom, changing into a pair of board shorts and fired up the blender. He was on his third--fourth?-- round of daiquiris and frowned when he poured the last of the rum in with the strawberry mix.

Shrugging, he places the empty bottle next to the trash and walks over to the drink cart for another. Letting out a small sound of triumph when he finds it, Alec ambles back into the kitchen, cracking open the bottle en route and only swaying slightly.

He pours a generous measure in and adds the ice before blending it.

A few moments later, Alec is back out on the balcony enjoying the New York sunshine and working on his tan. His movements are loose and relaxed. It feels like it’s getting hotter outside by the minute and Alec just drinks more of his frozen drink to cool off. He sets the cup next to the daybed before laying down on his stomach.

The next few hours are more of the same, with the ratio of rum to mix gradually reversing until it’s a splash of strawberry to a cup of liquor. Alec doesn’t notice, caught up in the sweet deliciousness and the rush of warm that floods through him every time he takes a sip. He fumbles around with his phone, playing a game or two of whatever’s in before giving up and finally falling asleep in the syrupy sunshine.

It’s hard to say how much time has passed when Alec feels something on his cheek. Even in his drunken haze he recognizes comfort, however, and nuzzles into the hand whose thumb is slowly sweeping across his brow.

A few minutes later, he finally pries his eyes open and sees Magnus dressed in his summer casual outfit. He must have changed after his afternoon appointments because he’s wearing a tank that shows off wonderfully toned arms and rolled-up chinos tailored to perfection. His feet are bare with an ankle bracelet glinting in the sun. Without makeup, he looks soft and warm, like _home_ , and Alec filters the rush of feeling slowly, overwhelmed with the perfection of his man.

Alec smiles up at him and Magnus lets his gaze roam over his husband with his adorably ruffled hair and sun-kissed skin.

“Good evening, darling,” Magnus whispers before leaning down and giving Alec a slow, chaste kiss on the lips.

Alec grins, closing his eyes, before replying. “Good evening, love of my life.”

With Alec’s eyes still closed, he doesn’t see Magnus’s brow raise, doesn’t see him narrow his eyes a little, doing a more thorough sweep of Alec and the balcony. Spying the empty cup, he leans over and picks it up, bringing it to his nose. When he smells the glass, he sharply inhales, surprised. It smells like pure rum. In the next minute, Magnus is smiling softly, looking at Alec with the world’s fondness held in his eyes.

Deciding to let Alec have a few minutes of blissful oblivion, he simply asks, “What’d you do today?”

Alec hums and thinks for several seconds, so long that Magnus thinks he’s fallen back asleep, before replying in an absent voice, “I had a drink. A few drinks. I was thirsty. It’s so hot, y’know?”

Magnus grins but manfully swallows down his laughter.

“And what did you drink?”

Alec opens one eye and looks at Magnus warily. “Why?”

Pasting an innocent expression on his face, Magnus says, “No reason. You just look comfortable, like you’ve been relaxing out here. I wanted to know if there was a reason why.”

Alec can’t help the grin that stretches across his face. “I might have had, like, a lot of strawberry daiquiris.”

“Oh?”

Alec looks adorable and it’s all Magnus can do not to melt. Alec is trying to look sheepish but the last of the day’s rays are hitting his face and he’s squinting while trying to scowl. He looks like a disgruntled puppy and Magnus moves an inch or two to the right, can’t help but preen when Alec’s face relaxes and he hums in contentment, shooting Magnus a smile filled with warmth and thanks. He feels like a hero, saving his love from the ferocious and unforgiving light, but that’s apparently the mood for tonight.

Alec reaches for Magnus’s hand. It takes him a few tries and Magnus has to help him out by holding his hand almost next to where Alec’s is swaying through the air, but it’s worth it when Alec lets out a little noise of happiness. 

They stay there for a minute. Alec is laying down on his stomach laid out like a cat. When Magnus runs his hand through Alec’s hair, Magnus is almost positive that Alec purrs in satisfaction. Magnus is sitting on the edge of the daybed looking at Alec with everything he feels splashed across his face.

There was a time-- an eternity-- when he didn’t think he’d get to have this. It wasn't in the cards for him. But it’s been decades since Alec turned his back on his own wedding and sealed their fate. They’ve been married for longer than most mortals live and every day Magnus wakes up in loving arms and goes to bed thanking every deity he can name that he has _this_. A man to come home to every night and a love so pure and blinding that he sometimes wonders how a heart can stand so much feeling. It’s an ache that he hopes never goes away.

Alec’s face scrunches a little before he’s tugging on Magnus’s hand. Magnus snaps back to the present and let’s Alec pull him until they’re laying side by side, facing each other, the little bed making it so that they’re plastered against each other. Alec wraps his arms around Magnus’s waist and burrows his face into the hollow of his neck, rubbing his nose along his pulse.

Magnus loves Alec in all his forms, but this might just be his favorite. Alec has never acquired a taste for liquor, or any alcohol in general. He gets tipsy from drinking a single wine cooler and when he decides to really indulge, he becomes a damn marshmallow. He’s a giant teddy bear and a drunk Alec is an affectionate Alec. He only lets himself go when he’s among his inner circle, though. Only Magnus has seen Alec at his worst, blackout drunk and giggling at everything in foreign cities, bolstered by liquid courage and singing karaoke at a gay bar in Queens.

Magnus knows that his husband will be glued to his side for the rest of the evening and he chuckles a little, delighted with the unexpected development. He’d envisioned takeout and a movie marathon tonight to unwind from a hectic day when he'd decided to come home early. Yet, it looks like it’ll be cuddles and talking late into the night. 

Even better.

Drunk Alec is also an Alec that can’t help from spilling his every thought. When Magnus feels a tapping on his lower back, he rolls his eyes a little, thinking that it’d taken Alec longer than usual to get to the rambling stage.

“Magnus? Magnus,” Alec stage whispers.

“Yes, love?”

Alec kisses the top of his chest before confiding, “I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, love?”

Magnus can feel the grin against his skin as Alec says, “I love you.” There’s a beat of silence before he’s continuing. “I love you so much. To infinity and back. No! To eternity and then even farther.”

Magnus tightens his grasp around Alec’s shoulders, pulling him closer. _God_ , he loves this man. This cuddly tree that has the political astuteness of Machiavelli, a body that deserves a temple to rival Zeus, and the bluntness of someone who’s never been broken, despite everything. 

“I love you too, Alexander. With everything that I am.”

The next hour is filled with Alec talking incessantly with Magnus serving as a sounding board. He hums in all the right places and Alec needs little encouragement to stay on his diatribe that ranges from the beauty of Magnus’s shoulders (“You’re so fucking broad, babe. You could bench press me”) to wondering if hippos like to bob for apples (They’re already in the water. They’re probably pros at it. Do you think a hippo has ever eaten an apple? What do hippos eat, Magnus?”).

The sun has set and Magnus has just pried himself out of Alec’s octopus grip to grab something to drink when Alec sits bolt upright with a gasp.

Shaking his head at his husband’s penchant for dramatics, Magnus waits for Alec to enlighten him.

Alec’s looking at Magnus with shining eyes and flushed cheeks. He stands up and looks a little unsteady on his feet before looking up at Magnus in triumph. He takes the few steps over to Magnus before throwing his arms around him and all but crushing Magnus against his chest.

Magnus gets out a muffled, “What are you doing, Alexander,” but Alec has obviously either not heard him or is ignoring him altogether.

They stand together for a minute, the humid summer night adding to the warmth in their chests.

Finally, Alec pulls back and grins at Magnus, a stupid little smile that betrays all of the love and happiness he’s feeling.

“Dance with me, love of my eternal life.”

Who is Magnus to say no to that?

So, the two of them sway in the warm breeze, overlooking Brooklyn with lights twinkling in the distance. They’re two people wrapped up in each other to distraction. Life is made worth it by the simple moments-- the stolen kisses and lingering glances. The love that burns hotter than the brightest star.

Magnus’s life is worth quite a lot.

And so is Alec’s.

**Author's Note:**

> Catch me on tumblr @carmenlire


End file.
